I Want To See Red
by gwenniekate
Summary: Edward may not be a gentleman, but he wants to win over Bella anyway.  Can he earn her trust and affection?  Rated M for coarse language and possible lemony essence.  Just for fun!
1. Red as a Blush

Hi, there! I have been working hard on my other fic, Old Devil Moon: Bella Runs, but it is very slow-going because I am really committed to staying in character, getting my facts straight, etc. I decided I needed to have a secondary project that I could just have fun with and not worry about those things. Welcome to that project!

Since this is really just for me to have fun, be forewarned that my characters will be OOC, the language will be really coarse, and there will be sexual undertones. I welcome constructive criticism and suggestions. I hope you have as much fun reading as I do writing!

You all know this, but it bears repeating: all characters and associated material belong to Stephenie Meyer. Sad but true.

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**I Want To See Red, Chapter 1: Red as a Blush**

I had been on this earth more than 100 years. I had been through more years of high school than most people spend on their careers. Through all those years, I had seen more teenage girls than live in the 10 most populated cities in the world. That's a _lot_ of skirts, hairspray, and lipstick.

But the day I saw Bella Swan for the first time, I lost my shit.

She walked into the cafeteria like she didn't belong there or something. Acting all shy, looking around like people were judging her. I dunno what her problem was; she was the most beautiful thing to ever walk through the doors of Forks High, and everyone was practically kissing her feet.

I saw her through the eyes of every guy in the school long before she walked into the cafeteria, but no one's mind registered how fucking good she smelled.

Dear God, between her looks and her smell, my mind had no problem coming up with a hundred things I could do to that girl. None of them in the cafeteria. At least, not with all those people around. The sight would scare the hell out of the even the least naïve, least unsuspecting students. The screaming, the thrashing, not to mention the blood! Oh, I could practically taste it already. Fuck.

"Dude, you all right?" my brother Emmett asked, whispering across our lunch table in a voice so low none but our family could hear. I broke my gaze from the Swan girl.

Emmett wasn't the only one watching me. His wife, Rosalie, her brother Jasper, and his respective wife, Alice, all stared at me with their rapt attention.

I could handle everyone looking at me, everyone but Alice. The more she watched me, the more she was sure to see about what was going through my head. And really, no one needed to see what was in my head at that moment. Movie theaters won't even let people see that shit. You gotta find one of those special video rental places with the velvet rope and the back room and all that. If I considered those things for even one fraction of a second, Alice would see it, and I didn't have so much as a velvet rope to keep her from it.

I looked to Em.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever," I mumbled, swatting away my train of thought with a dismissive hand.

_You look spooked_, he thought, knowing I would hear. _You see something?_

_What the hell was that, Edward?_ asked Rosalie. Jasper's mind echoed the same. But Alice's mind was a quiet hum - so quiet I couldn't hear it over the crowd of self-absorbed, over-indulgent students around us – but she kept her eyes on me. It was scary as fuck. What had she seen me consider? Had she gotten a clear shot of skin? Blood? Had she seen me get shot down in ways I could not yet anticipate? I stared at my lunch, which was (and would remain) uneaten. Damn her. Damn Alice and all her fortune-telling shit. Damn Bella for smelling so damn delicious and for looking almost as good as she smelled.

At least I was the only mind reader in the family; it would suck hardcore if Jazz or Em or anyone could honestly see the shit my mind came up with sometimes. Usually, it wasn't nearly as pornographic as the little freak show Bella had just inspired in my head – most girls didn't inspire much in me at all, and I mean that in every way you can imagine – but I had to be careful not to actually consider doing that shit, or else Alice might stumble across a vision of that decision. It was bad enough when I caught glimpses of my siblings' personal escapades. I didn't need anyone seeing mine, real or imaginary or future or non-existent past. And right then I was thinking my family needed to butt out. With everyone staring at me like I was wearing a clown costume, like I would ignite or something at any moment, I felt like even more of a freak show than all of us actually, honestly were; which is something when you consider my ability to hear thoughts, my sister's ability to see the future, and our collective, constant craving for the taste of blood.

I tried hard not to watch the girl eating her lunch. For everyone's sake, it was best if I didn't start staring across the lunchroom, but if I just sort of watched her through other kids' minds... No one would have to know...

The guys at the school seemed to have similar, though somewhat less violent, thoughts about the new girl to mine. The girls' reactions ran the gamut from jealousy to admiration to ambivalence. I changed minds like flipping channels on TV.

_So what if she's Chief Swan's kid? She's boring!_

_...thinks she's too good for us small-town folks, the bitch!_

_...chatter as much as Jessica. She seems kind of shy, actually. Nice, even_

_It's not going to work, Edward._

Damn. Alice.

_You can't just start seeing a human girl. Especially not one at our high school. She'll know as soon as you touch her that we're all different._

I let go of the vision of Bella's face as seen by one of her classmates and glared at my sister.

"I know all that," I told her, rolling my eyes.

But then, Alice's face went vacant, a look we all knew well from years of witnessing Alice's visions. Flashes started invading my sight, going much to quickly for me to see what they were. Lots of green, bright light, huge billows of white, faces, a spark of red, a swish of brown... I could see Alice's face again. She cocked an eyebrow and gave me a half smile that kind of freaked me out.

"Okay," she said with a twinkle in her eye. "Do whatever you want."

Wtf? So I could pursue Bella, or what? I tried not to consider that yet, with Alice still looking right at me, and instead tried to figure out what Alice had just seen. It had been too fast, too blurry for me. Clearly, Alice had gotten some meaning out of it.

"What the hell was that?" I asked.

Alice simply smiled.

"That was me, changing my mind."

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And there is the beginning! If you didn't like how I'm doing this fic, go try my other. It is really different!

And if you _did_ like this one, try my other anyway!

Thank you for reading. Leave a review! I'm just doing this story for fun, so you can say anything you want and I'll be cool with it. :)


	2. Red as Rage

Adding some new fun. It's short; I know! If you need something longer, check out my "serious" fic: _Old Devil Moon: Bella Runs_.

Feel free to review. Unlike my other fic, I'm pretty much winging this one, so I am wide open to suggestions from readers!

You know: all characters and associated material belong to Stephenie Meyer, who would never let Edward drop the f-bomb this many times. Yet another reason to write this!

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I Want to See Red_ Chapter 2: Red as Rage**

I left my thoughts in the cafeteria and headed to biology. Settling into my usual seat, I waited for my favorite class to start. Having spent as many years in college bio and med school classes as I had, eleventh grade biology was always my favorite part of the high school curriculum. I always knew the answers in all my classes, what with being able to hear my teacher's expectant thoughts, and biology was certainly no exception. But it wasn't about knowing the stuff. It was all about life: this complex, beautiful thing that I could never have again. And all my classmates sat around me, completely taking it for fucking granted.

I loved that fucking class. And then, Little Miss Smellsogood walked in and shot my little peace all to hell.

Damn, but she was tempting! My eyes were drawn to her pale neck the second she appeared in the door. She dropped her head shyly, letting her dark hair fall over her neck and shoulders. Blood rose to her cheeks and I could practically taste it, feel it running down my throat. I pulled my eyes from the girl's curtained throat only to find them heading for her chest.

It didn't take a genius to figure out where she was going to have to sit – the seat next to mine was the only empty chair in the room – so in an effort to _not _make my lab partner realize I was totally picturing her in a dozen compromising positions right then, I ripped my eyes from her modest but adequate chesticles.

But, fuck me, I wanted to look!

Ah, to hell with look, I wanted to touch and taste! The flow of venom to my mouth agreed.

I was so wrapped up in the inconvenience of restraining myself that I hardly noticed when Bella actually took her seat next to me. Her scent flooded my nostrils, and I was practically knocked out of my seat by how pungent and intoxicating it was. I had to lean away from her to keep myself focused. No matter how much I would enjoy it or which sinful pleasure I chose to take advantage of, there wasn't any good that could come of my getting too close to the girl with all our classmates around us.

She blushed again when I shifted in my seat, but she kept her head down. Holy shit, I had never seen anyone so shy! It was almost like she was taunting me; the blood coloring her neck and face was so sweet and warm, I could sense it from where I sat, and I couldn't have any of it!

Actually, now that I thought about it, it was pretty inconsiderate. Who blushed that much? She had to be doing it deliberately. Anger bubbled up in me. And you know, she probably wore perfume or something to make herself smell that good, too. _What a bitch!_

I tried to probe her mind to see what her intentions were, but she had blocked me out there, too. She didn't block me the way my family would, either – by counting backwards from 50 in Swahili (Alice) or mentally dissembling a carburetor (Rosalie) or thinking of every nasty detail of a personal encounter with his spouse (Emmett and even occasionally Jasper) – no, this girl was giving me silence. Not quiet room silence. Post-atomic blast, ears ringing in your head, completely and painfully deaf silence. I didn't how she did that. I hadn't even known it _could _be done. And I was baffled at how she knew she had to do it to me.

What the hell? Who was this chick? It was like her main purpose was to intrigue, frustrate, and infuriate me.

Did she know who I was? Surely not; not unless she had a death wish. No one would tempt and anger a vampire like that. But maybe she wasn't all there; she thought she was invincible or she was suicidal or something. There were unsuspecting humans out there who were into vampirism... Maybe she was one of those people, and she thought it would be cool to be bitten, pretty little dribbles of blood running down her porcelain neck?

_Okay, don't think about _that.

I cast an eye over the girl. She didn't really seem gothic or anything. Maybe I was mistaken to assume it, but I kind of expected a girl into vampirism to wear a little more black lace or leather or something. Denim, not so much. But, as I looked her over, that maddening pink returned to her cheeks. I could feel the heat of it radiating to my cold skin, could smell a new wave of her impossibly delicious scent. Yeah, she _had _to be doing that on purpose.

By the end of class, I was madder than hell. I didn't even want to talk to her if she was gonna be like that. Alice could just change her mind back. I was leaving the new girl alone. I stormed out a little too quickly, considering my natural tendency toward speed and my classmates' complete lack of it. But at least I saved them the sight of Bella's untimely demise.

Someone really should thank me for that kind of shit. Breaking my back, here!


	3. Red Tape

Hello, you happy little monkeys!

You know by now that this is my second fic, my "fun" one... Like the gas-guzzling sports car you drive on the weekends just because it's loud. Everyone is invited to review, read my other fic, review, favorite, alert, and then over to my house for cookies! Everyone likes cookies, right?

The usual disclaimer applies: all the characters and associated material are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No cookies for her.

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**_I Want to See Red_ Chapter 3: Red Tape**

"Whoah, Cupcake!" Emmett exclaimed as he climbed into my car after school. We didn't really have to drive anywhere, given our considerable running skills, but it would raise a few eyebrows if the good people of Forks spotted us trekking home on foot – even if we simply walked at human speed. While few knew exactly where our house was located, pretty much everyone could reasonably deduce that we didn't live within a normal walking distance. Not to mention the 5/6ths of the year we would show up to school dripping wet; Carlisle might be a respected doctor in this town, but his aptitude for parenting would be questioned for damn sure.

"You want to explain what's going on with you today?" my brother demanded. "I thought you were going to fall out with a fucking conniption in Spanish."

The truth was, I had gone into Spanish class with anger towards Bella. Anger and curiosity. And then the curiosity won out. I had started wandering through all the mental voices in the school, trying to pick up on Bella's, and finding that I couldn't. That was so frustrating! How the hell did she do that?

I did, however, stumble across a number of minds that fixated on her, and those proved more torturous than her closed-off mind. One of my more charming classmates was wondering how long it would take to get her into the back seat of a parked car. Others admired her physical allure. One was close to her – this was the worst – and could actually smell her. Granted, the mind I was borrowing was oblivious to the delicious scent of her blood, which was, at that moment, accented beautifully by just a hint of her sweat as she sat on the sidelines in gym. But I could just detect a shade of its sweetness, and venom coated my teeth. I could still taste it as I sat behind the wheel of my car.

"Whoo!" punctuated Jasper, climbing into the back seat. He said nothing more but raised his eyebrows at me and stared expectantly. I didn't have to hear the thoughts in his head to know that he was feeling the tension winding me like a spring, the thirst burning in my throat and my brain. I met his gaze in the rearview mirror and saw his eyes beginning to darken to match mine.

Jasper smacked Emmett in the shoulder.

"What's up with Pollyanna?" he asked. "Not playing the 'glad game' today?"

I rolled my eyes at the sarcastic nickname.

"I think it's the new girl," Emmett answered over the offended shoulder.

_Fuck._

"Where are the girls?" I interrupted, before my brothers could hash out any more (correct) theories about my mood.

Just then, the sound of Rosalie's high heels clacking across the parking lot reached the car.

_He'd better 'fess up about what's going on,_ she was thinking. _If he's gonna go all emo on us, I'll drag his ass up to Denali faster than he can say - _

"Hey, darlin'," Jasper drawled, and a door opened. I hadn't even realized Alice was with Rosalie. Despite my super-sensitive hearing, she had made it all the way across the parking lot without making a sound, physical or mental. Probably not a good sign for me.

The girls slid into the back seat, and for a moment no one said anything. Everyone was pretty used to keeping their thoughts at a low volume during our drives; it was harder for me to unintentionally listen in on them if they relaxed their minds while we were in that close proximity. But they had all gotten so curious over my behavior at lunch that their mental whispering got my attention anyway – every other word was my name.

_I hope Edward's not acting like a puss over that dumb girl. She's not even very pretty._

_ Ed's got some sort of major jones for that Swan chick. She's got nothin' on my Rose, but I've never seen him interested in a chick before! That's gotta be good._

_ . . . thirst radiating off him is intense . . ._

_ Dear God, please let Edward grow a pair and ask her out! I sososo need a girlfriend who isn't related to me. Amen!_

That was interesting. Alice thought she was going to be friends with this girl. I hadn't gotten anything like that from what I'd seen of Alice's vision, but no wonder she changed her mind. Alice was the type of girl who loved nothing more than a "Girls Night" every night, but given our situation, the possibilities for a Girls Night were pretty limited. Did Alice think she could be friends with a human girl? Or...

_God, no._

She thought I would turn the girl. I would pursue her, I would change her, and Alice would have a new friend. The thought was revolting... taking away a girl's humanity just for companionship. It was heartless. It was selfish. It was... entirely possible. Probable even, given how hard it was to not obsess over the girl's blood. Just thinking about thinking about her blood made my mouth water. Or venomate. Venomize. Whatever.

I drove up the winding driveway to our house and, the moment the car was off, threw myself from the vehicle.

"I'm going hunting," I growled, slamming the car door behind me.

"I'm going with you," added Jasper, half a pace behind me.

I tore off through the wilderness around the house, launched myself over water and into the trees. It was unfair of me to run at full speed, knowing Jasper could never keep up, but trying to slow my pace only made me feel more angry, more desperate to be free of my new reality. I had never before felt so powerful and so powerless at the same time; an innocent life hung in the balance, and if anything went wrong, the blood was on my hands. I ran until I smelled my prey, and then my focus went to the hunt. It was a welcome relief.

"So what's bothering you about the Swan girl?" my brother asked as we tracked a mountain lion through the dense undergrowth.

I sighed. "She's just..." I struggled to find the words. "She's like the devil incarnate!"

Jasper chuckled from the other side of an immense nurse tree. "I wasn't aware you two had spoken yet."

"She doesn't have to speak. She's going to be the death of me."

"Oh, really?"

"I don't know how, but she knows what I can do. She closes her mind to me."

_She keeps you out of her thoughts?_ Jasper asked for clarification.

"It's like she's on mute," I replied. The frustration surged inside me and I slammed my fist into a spruce, completely disconnecting the majority of the tree from its roots.

_Wow._ His mind reeled with how the girl could know of my ability, how she could shut me out so absolutely. I thought I detected a shade of jealousy... _He _couldn't shut me out like that.

"And she blushes constantly," I went on, enumerating my grievances against the girl. "I've never met anyone who blushed as much as she does. And it's like torture every time she does it," I took a breath, catching a Bella-free whiff of air that nevertheless set my mouth to venom – we were almost on the mountain lion now - "because her blood is like nothing I've ever fucking smelled before. It's like she's _trying_ to get me to kill her!"

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know!" I answered honestly, and I was thankful to spot the cat at that moment, because the thought of killing the girl was tempting and frustrating, and my throat burned in protest. My hunting senses took over completely then, and my brother and I only spoke again after we had quenched our thirst.

"What does Alice say?" Jasper asked, wiping a trickle of blood from his lips.

"Actually, she kind of told me to... go for it," I admitted.

"Well, that sounds good. She probably wouldn't advise that if you were going to kill the Swan girl."

"No, but..." I wasn't sure what Alice had seen, after all. I wasn't even sure if _she _was sure what she had seen. "Things change. People... change."

Jasper seemed to catch the double meaning in my words, because he fell quiet. I would have listened in on his thoughts, but he seemed to be choosing his words carefully, and I wanted to give him the opportunity to express himself the way he wanted.

"I know you don't think highly of our lifestyle," he said after a moment's pause, "but being like us is not the end of the world."

"But it is the end of a life," I muttered. My brother huffed in response.

"Or the beginning of one," he countered.

I rolled my eyes.

"I just don't want to put her in that position."

_What position _do_ you want to put her in? _

I tried to give Jasper a glare, but I was met with eyes twinkling in amusement, a fresh yellow that I knew mirrored my own. And I'll be damned if I didn't imagine several positions I'd love to put that girl in. In fact, I'll probably be damned either way, so I might as well imagine her however the hell I want!

"Whoah," my brother interrupted. "I can't hear what you're thinking, man, but I can still feel it. If you can wait until you're alone, or at least until I'm around my wife -"

"Okay, okay," I mumbled, refocusing on the woods, the hunt, and the feeling of a meal that, while filling, hadn't quite rid me of the burn in my throat.

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**(A/N):** So what happens next? Any ideas? I'm taking requests! Thanks for reading, and be sure and check out my other story, "Old Devil Moon: Bella Runs."


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